Smarter than he lets on
by ghostwriter123
Summary: Robin figures that Luffy is smarter than he lets on...so she confronts him about it. Final chapter now out :)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**He's smarter than he lets on**

Nico Robin was no fool. One of her chief assets was her intelligence. It was how she had survived all these years from pirate crew to pirate crew before she came to the Straw Hats.

She trained herself to be observant and in the know about everything, a task made slightly simpler by the fact that she had a super genius IQ (what more would you expect from the youngest ever archaeologist of Ohara?).

That is why, when she met Luffy, she knew something was off. This rubber man was not as dumb as he led others to believe. She saw an intelligence hiding in his eyes.

When he fought Crocodile on the roof of the Royal Palace in Alabasta and revealed that he had figured out Crocodile's weakness, she knew he was definitely smarter than he let on. It had taken her a whole year by his side to pick up on his weakness yet he did it after a mere few days. Sure, his method of using water against Crocodile was hilarious but it would have been devastatingly effective had he not forgotten about Crocodile's dehydration ability.

She got a further glimpse of his brilliance during his final fight with Crocodile. He had chose to pound Crocodile against the roof and not the wall knowing that if pounded against the wall the roof would fall on all of them and bury them but by pounding on the roof, he not only prevented that, he showed Crocodile's defeat to the world.

When she finally joined his crew and they had fled from the Marines, she continued to observe him and found more glimpses of him hiding his intelligence and playing dumb.

She always giggled in silence as she observed him acting like a buffoon in front of the crew and stealing food at every meal yet he seemed to know not to steal certain foods from those in the crew who were injured because they would need them.

She saw that he figured out that you could use the uprising water spouts to get to SkyPeia even when the others disbelieved him. He also figured out how to get from one end of the island back to the bar without getting lost and Bellamy's weakness.

He did not know that rubber was an insulator but was quick to use that against Enel. He learnt quickly that metal was a conductor and he knew exactly how to use the golden ball Enel had attached to his arm against Enel.

Sure, there were times when he jumped into water on purpose but he was smart enough to do so only when he knew Zoro or Sanji were on hand to save him.

While at Water 7, he had made the intellectually correct decision to replace Going Merry because she could no longer be repaired. He had read Kaku's expression like she had and knew that he wasn't lying.

At Enies Lobby, somehow he had figured out how to use his Gomu Gomu abilities to replicate certain tricks that Blueno was using, creating gear 2 and later gear 3.

She saw that he very clearly knew the limits of each of his crew when they were pushed, even if they didn't and knew who they could not face.

When Chopper pointed out that he thought Luffy seemed to know who was the biggest threat and thus the guy he had to take on, Nami brushed it off as instinct but Robin knew better.

Finally, after they had left Water 7 on their brand new ship, the Thousand Sunny, Robin felt secure enough to approach the topic and confront Luffy.

She chose a night when Luffy was on watch duty (not too difficult since SHE made the schedule), and silently sneaked out of the Women's quarters. She climbed up to the crow's nest and confronted him.

Luffy, for the most part, wasn't surprised by this. It was almost as if he knew she would be coming to confront him.

"Luffy, we need to talk."

"About what?"

"You playing dumb, that's what. It doesn't work with me. You should know that. Why do you continue to play dumb? Why not let the crew know that you are smarter than you let on? Surely you can't enjoy being called a buffoon all the time?"

Luffy, for his part, had seen Robin giving him glances when he played dumb. He knew that she knew and that she wasn't fooled, amused yes, but not the least bit fooled.

"So you've finally called my bluff, shi shi shi." He let out his trademark grin and laugh.

"It's a long story Robin."

"It's a long night Luffy."

"Fine. Keep an eye out would you?"

"Sure" Robin sprouted a hand with one eye in the middle atop the crow's nest in order to keep watch for Luffy.

"I knew that when I brought you into this crew, you'd probably be the one to call my bluff. Nami seems to catch on sometimes but she doesn't want to believe it.

Anyway, I chose to play dumb because of what happened when I was a kid. As you may have heard from the others, when I was a kid, I grew up in windmill village and was mentored by Shanks, who used the village as a base for awhile.

I wanted to be a pirate like him but he kept telling me no. He saw my potential and knew he couldn't keep me back but he didn't want me rushing rashly into it. The day he lost his arm protecting me was the day I realized being a pirate wasn't all fun and games. Shanks took that opportunity to tell me what awaited in the Grand Line and even the New World. It was scary and he told me that I should only go when I was prepared and had a proper crew or it would be suicide.

After the talk, Lucky Roux saw that we were kinda down and so played the fool to cheer everyone up. It worked. I decided then that when I had a crew, I would play the fool to cheer them up and keep their spirits up.

When Zoro first joined me, I actually did discuss with him the dangers awaiting us. He was well aware of them, being a former pirate hunter, and was not too concerned. He did however warn me that the future crew members might not be as ready as he was to take the news.

This was proven true when I saw Usopp, Nami and Chopper and their timid nature. I decided not to tell them so as not to have them fearful of the future. They would do no one any good if they were that way. I needed them cheerful and confident and so played the fool as required to cheer them up."

"I see. But how is it you know instinctively who is the biggest threat everytime? Did Shanks tell you about these men we would face?"

"Shanks told me about the Yonkai and Shichibukai but not about CP9. The reason I know who is the biggest threat is because of Haki. Do you know what it is Robin?"

"I have heard of it. There are pirates who possess it and it is said to be able to counter Devil Fruit powers but I don't know how it works."

"Neither do I, Shanks didn't quite know either. He said I would have to learn on my own what kind of Haki I have and how to use it. He did say that one perk of Haki is that somehow instinctively Haki uses can sense the strength of their opponents and pick out who is the strongest. That is why I can sense the potential of the crew and know when to push them. It is also why I know who is the person that I must fight each time."

"Interesting. One last thing, I understand how every other member of the crew is important to your quest for One Piece but why did you bring me along? I am archaeologist. Surely you don't require my skills to find One piece? It's not buried is it?"

"Robin, every member of the crew is important. And I'm not just talking about because they're Nakama, they also are the best at a skill I need. I need an archaeologist who can read the ancient text or One Piece is useless."

"What?"

"Shanks told me that Roger was an archaeologist himself and I figured that he would have left some clues in ancient text so I needed someone who could read it. I planned to search for such a one in the New World but when I found you, I jumped at the chance to have you aboard."

"So you knew you would need me as well. It wasn't just out of pity?"

"Yes. And from what you've told us about your discovery on Sky Piea, I now believe that One Piece is useless without you."

"How is that possible?"

"Remember what you told us you discovered? You figured out from the message that Roger had taken all the Rio Polyglyphs together and stringed them into a book in order to reveal the blank history."

"Yes I recall that. But what has that got to do with One Piece?"

"Think about it. All the Rio Polyglyphs, strung together in **One** long **Piece?**"

"Oh my word. You can't mean..."

"Yes, I believe One Piece is the blank history or rather the true history as you call it. It fits with what Shanks told me about Roger. Being an archaeologist like yourself, no doubt that would be his greatest treasure. Sure that would be gold and such, but this to him would be far more valuable. And it would be the most powerful weapon for any pirate to use against the World Government."

Robin was stunned. She had known Luffy was smart, but this?

"Don't worry Robin. Even if it wasn't so, I would still risk my life to save you. You are my nakama after all."

Robin softened at that comment.

"You're good at reading people. Why don't you woo Nami? I know you like her."

"Can't afford romance for now. Like Shanks said, a distracted crew is a dead crew."

"Ok, then Luffy. It was an enlightening talk we had. I have to go now. It's late."

"Sure, and Robin?"

"Yeah?"

"Now that you know my secret, can we please have more of these talks? It's nice to have some intellectual conversation every once in awhile."

Hearing that, Robin nodded and gave a rare laugh. Who would have taught that this would come out of the mouth of her captain?

From that time on, everytime Robin or Luffy had watch duty, the other would sneak out and spend some time in the crow's nest as well and they would have plenty of conversations and discussions. Robin would also bring a book or two along for Luffy to read on some of his watch duties. Apparently he had lied about not knowing how to read as well.

This was why when Robin saw how hard Luffy pushed himself at Thriller Bark, she wasn't concerned. She knew that he knew his limits.

When she read about his exploits at Marineford and Impel down, she smiled knowingly, understanding the mind behind the chaos.

When she saw his message in the paper, she wasn't surprised. It was an ingenious way to send a message to the crew and she knew that he knew the crew wasn't ready to continue, not after what he had witnessed.

That was why when they reunited after two years, she knew she could still trust him to know what he was doing when he ran the crew.

Luffy might not be a super genious like her, but he was definitely smarter than he let on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Smarter than he lets on – chapter 2**

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Finally had a bout of inspiration. The story continues after the time skip. Enjoy!**

It had been two years since the members of the Straw Hat crew had seen each other. The reunion had predictably been a boisterous and joyful occasion. Everyone was genuinely glad to be reunited and seeing each other again; even Zoro and Sanji (though the pair would sooner die than admit that they missed each other).

For the first few nights after had they set off for Merman/Mermaid Island, the unlikely bunch of Nakama had opted to hold a series of parties and gatherings on deck in an effort to catch up. Sanji was undoubtedly the funniest guy at the party with his stories of the hell he had experienced and the rantings he had against Luffy and Zoro when he found out they had been in the company of some beautiful women for their two years. However, Sanji also almost single-handedly killed the parties every time he started to nearly bleed to death from the nose; Robin secretly wondered how many heart attacks Sanji's condition had given Chopper.

After the parties died down, the crew slowly stumbled back into old routines, and that also meant that the captain and his archaeologists would soon resume their secret meetings in the crow's nest.

One night, Robin and Luffy were as usual sitting together in crow's nest and discussing various issues. Sprawled out in front of them was the latest copy of the newpapers. Luffy had taken to reading it but had gotten Robin to procure them in his stead lest he draw unwanted attention from the crew.

"So captain," Nico Robin began in that tone that was equal parts inquisitive and as Luffy had learnt, mischievous. "when did you start reading the newspaper? Was this something you learnt on Amazon Lily?"

Luffy looked up from the papers and turned to his friend.

"Yeah. I never used to read newspapers because I wanted people to think I couldn't read and also because I wasn't willing to allow the rest of the crew to find out about the dangers that awaited them."

Luffy paused as his eyes took on a hint of sorrow.

"On Amazon Lily, there was an old woman who always got newspapers and read them. She said it was her job to stay updated since her leader was a Shichibukai. It was through her newspapers that I learnt of Ace's capture and scheduled execution. Had they not had the papers, I would never have known and my brother would probably have died with me being none the wiser."

Luffy held back tears as Robin gave him a warm smile and sprouted a hand to pass him a hankie.

"I regret that we weren't able to save him; but I do not regret at least being there to try and being able to let him see how strong I've become."

Taking off his straw hat and holding it symbolically, Luffy continued.

"Since that day, I resolved never to lose anyone I cared about again; And that meant that I had to do everything I could to get better equipped for the New World, including reading Newspapers to keep updated."

Luffy looked down at the full page spread that showed posters of what the Marines had dubbed 'The Eleven Supernovas' - a group of super rookies that included himself, Zoro, Trafalgar Law, Eustace Kidd and Jewellery Bonney among others.

"With Akainu as the fleet commander, it's all the more imperative to stay abreast of what operations he's doing and what he thinks of us. This was something Raleigh taught me."

Robin smiled at her captain's colourful use of language and the poise and intelligence he was showing in front of her. _If only the others could see,_ she mused.

"Luffy, are you ever going to tell the crew? I think we're a lot stronger now and it would be a huge boost for them to know that you're only playing dumb."

"Sorry Robin. I still don't think it's the right time. Besides, it's not the crew I'm worried about finding out now; it's the rest of the world. Going into the New World, we need every advantage we can get, and if our foes are going to underestimate us because they think I'm an idiot, then so much the better for us."

Robin smiled in agreement with her captain's strategy. It was true, the more one could catch others off-guard, the better. She had learnt that the hard way when trying to survive on her own for so many years.

"Robin, what do you think about alliances?"

"Oh! If you're talking about alliances between different crews, I would say it's a calculated risk. I have been on crews before that allied with others only for both members of the alliance to turn on each other. It's a gamble but the upside is that two crews can cover more ground and get more done."

Luffy put his hat back on and stared at the pictures of Law and Kidd.

"We may have to enter an alliance soon. I don't fancy it but I think we'll need to grow the crew into more than one boat can handle. We will also need to ally with other crews if we are to take on the threats in the New World, including that stupid hot-head Akainu."

Robin let out a small laugh at the way Luffy has said that last few words regarding their mutually hated foe. Robin herself had sworn vengeance after learning what Akainu had done to her old friend Aokoji.

"Let me guess, captain. You'd prefer the alliance to be with one of these two captains?"

"It's like the old saying you taught me. Better the devil you know that the devil you…"

"…don't know." Finished the archaeologist with a smile.

As they continued chatting away, in the women's quarters, the navigator began to stir and walk out onto the deck. The fact that they were on the way to the island of Merman/Mermaids had left her unable to sleep properly the past few days. Nightmares of Arlong and his crew had forced Nami awake and she had walked out on deck to clear her head.

Seeing the crow's nest light on, she assumed Robin (who was on duty) was probably reading and decided to get some sisterly advice from her. She was surprised to hear Luffy's soft laughter coming from the crow's nest as she climbed up.

For their part, Robin and Luffy had both known she was climbing up as Robin had seen her with a sprouted eye and Luffy has sensed her with his Haki. Luffy has wanted to get away and play dumb again but Robin had tied him down and started to tickle him so that he would be incapacitated until Nami climbed up. Robin had decided that if she wanted to push the Navigator and Captain together, this was the first step – for Nami to discover Luffy's true intelligence.

As Nami opened the trap door, she was greeted by a flurry of petals in the air and the strange sight of Luffy and Robin sitting together in front of a newspaper.

The orange-haired cat thief looked expectantly at the duo.

"Robin? Luffy? What the HELL IS GOING ON?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Smarter than he lets on – part 3**

Back in the men's quarters, a battered Luffy lay in his hammock as around him the other male Straw Hats attempted to get back to sleep. Mutterings of "stupid ero cook" could be heard in the bunk whilst elsewhere in the infirmary a certain cook was cursing his captain. Luffy, however, ignored all of these and focused his thoughts on his navigator. He hoped she was faring well; it was a lot to take in after all.

_Flashback:_

Earlier, Nami had caught Luffy and Robin reading together and the two had attempted to tell her the truth about Luffy's intelligence. Unfortunately before they could start, Sanji had come running out yelling that he would save Nami. Before the trio could even face palm, the rest of the crew had slowly walked out, being awoken by Sanji's melodramatics.

Giving Robin a quick glance, Luffy immediately launched into his 'dumb act' and Robin immediately went to placate Sanji by telling him that Luffy merely had wanted the girls to read to him the news as he wasn't a good reader. It turned out she needn't have bothered. The moment Sanji caught sight of the two women, he had a nose bleed that made the water fountains of Water 7 look like a kid's toy.

"Ugh! Not again!" groaned Luffy as he extended an arm to drag Sanji back down. Since Chopper was awake, he was able to immediately offer medical assistance to the haemorrhaging heartthrob. As Chopper dragged a limp Sanji back to the infirmary, Robin repeated her explanation to the rest of the crew.

Zoro simply rolled his eyes and went back to sleep, as did Ussop and Franky. Brook however decided to tarry.

"You know, I do need my beauty sleep. It helps me keep away the wrinkles…but I'm a skeleton so I have none! Skull joke! Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho! Nami, since we're both awake right now, could I take a look at…ARGH!"

Before Brook could finish his trademark line, Nami had already zapped him with her black tempo…twice. Luffy rolled his eyes as Robin giggled. Moving over to the now charred and unconscious skeleton, Luffy dragged him back to the bunk whilst saying goodnight to the girls.

Nami would have chased after him but Robin placed a firm hand on her shoulder. The two girls spent the next two hours alone in the crow's nest talking about the truth about their captain.

_Present time:_

Nami now lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. "I can't believe I just spent two hours talking with Robin about Luffy's intelligence." She mumbled to no one in particular.

_Luffy's intelligence_ she scoffed. What an oxymoronic statement and yet, if Robin was to be believed, it was entire true. No, that rubber head couldn't actually be smart, could he?

As Nami drifted off to sleep, her thoughts wandered off to memories of the past. She recalled how when she was explaning scurvy to the crew, Luffy didn't seem at all surprised. Heck, it had been Luffy who procured the limes for the ship in the first place. She had assumed it was him being greedy at the time, but did he really know what he was doing back then?

Nami next recalled the incident with Arlong. She recalled that at one point, he seemed to let Arlong hit him and bring him to the top of the building. Nami was sure Luffy originally had Arlong's number but just stopped suddenly. She had attributed it to his moronic moves at the time but did he really plan for Arlong to take him up to the top of the tower where her room was? Did he destroy the entire building on purpose rather than by accident? Did he really understand back then that it was important for the whole island that not just the fishmen were defeated but that their tower – the symbol of their oppression – was totally destroyed as well?

Nami vaguely recalled being carried by Luffy to see Dr Kureha on Chopper's island. Normally, the goofball captain was beaten in the worst sense of direction category by only his idiotic first mate. Come to think of it, it was a miracle that Luffy knew where he was going let alone what he was doing…unless what Robin said was true.

Nami also recalled the encounters with Enel. Nami had been the only one with a first row seat for the action and she hadn't thought much of it at the time. Now that she had time to ponder, she realized that Luffy seemed to know exactly what he was doing when he fought Enel. He even played dumb in front of her using that 'Gum Gum Idiot' technique. Then there was the beanstalk. Luffy figured out how to use the momentum of her cloud scooter and the leverage from the beanstalk to power his shot to defeat Enel. At the time, Nami had chalked it up to dumb luck but was it really just instinct and luck, or something more?

The things Robin had mentioned about Alabasta and Enies Lobby came flooding back. Things that she had brushed off as dumb luck now she questioned once again.

Stirring in her bed, Nami muttered to herself.

"No, it can't be. If he really is smarter than he lets on, then that means he may not be that ignorant about feelings. But that means…"

At that point, Nami woke up with a start at her realization.

"If he's not as dumb as everyone thinks, then maybe he really does have feelings for me…"

Nami never saw the flurry of petals appear behind her and a smirk on a certain Archaeologist's face. Tonight would certainly be interesting…

**A/N: Hope you guys don't mind a hint of Luna being thrown in. Don't worry, this will stay a short story and won't go too detailed into Luna. However, there will be more than a mention of it for reasons revealed in the next chapter. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Oda, I am not. I do not own One Piece.**

**Smarter than he lets on – Part 4**

The next night, Robin 'conveniently' swapped lookout duty with Nami so that the Navigator would be alone that night. Nami and Luffy both caught on to what Robin was trying to pull and fought back a blush. Sanji would have offered to take both Nami and Robin's places except that Chopper, Ussop and Franky held him down in the sick bay to prevent him from spraying blood all over the Sunny again.

Now, Nami waited in the crow's nest, admiring the fish that swam by as they descended deeper into the depths of the ocean. Predictably, she was broken out of her thoughts by a soft knock on the door.

"Nami, it's me. Can I come in?"

Taking a deep breath, Nami opened the hatch and let the Captain in. She had originally hesitated but a pair of hands suddenly pushed her toward the door and then disappeared into a mess of petals.

"Did Robin give you a helping hand too?"

"Yeah"

"We are so going to have to pay her back tomorrow"

"Shi shi shi shi"

The duo shared a mischievous grin before settling down on the floor. Exchanging warm smiles, they both awkwardly looked away for a moment before Nami broke the silence.

"Neh, Luffy, so it's all true?"

Luffy smiled, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "Depends on what you heard"

That remark earned him a slap to the back of the head as he laughed.

"Stop playing dumb with me, dummy. You've been doing so for far too long. Robin filled me in."

"Then you know"

Luffy's reply wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact. It was also a statement that referred to more than just his intelligence; they both knew that if she knew about his intelligence, there were other things that were automatically implied.

"So you do have feelings for me?"

Luffy's only reply was a silent smile.

Nami recalled what Robin had told her; how Luffy had refrained from acting on those emotions for the sake of the crew. Nami wondered how much torture Luffy had been in emotionally just for her sake. Taking another deep breath, she asked the question that had haunted her.

"Before I tell you whether I accept those feelings, I need to know…what happened on Maiden's island?"

The fact that she didn't add that Luffy wasn't to lie to her spoke volumes about the trust between them. They knew, since the day Nami had first joined the crew, that they would trust each other. She recalled with fondness how Ussop had related to her that Luffy had defended her even when she betrayed them to save her village. After she had rejoined, there had been an unspoken promise between the Captain and his Navigator that there would be no more lies ever between them, strengthening their trust and friendship.

Luffy took off his cap and looked Nami in the eye before recalling briefly what had happened on Maiden's island.

"When I was on Maiden's island, I originally didn't know what to do. I ran into a girl named Margaret who helped me find my way around. Then I tried to go to the highest point on the island to get a good view of the place and decide what to do. Unfortunately, I had no idea that the highest point was also Boa Hancock's palace. I slipped from the roof and fell into her shower, accidentally seeing her nude."

He paused to see Nami's eyebrows raised. However, he knew she would wait for him to finish before unleashing any fury.

"She reacted badly to that and tried to use her devil's fruit powers to turn me into stone but it didn't work. She attributed it to me being a special man but it was really due to a combination of my Haki and the fact that her abilities didn't work on people who did not have strong emotions toward her. She never got the fact that I didn't have strong emotions for her. She was pretty but nothing special to me. Sanji might have fallen head over heels in love with her though."

Nami fought back a grin at that statement.

"Anyway, to make things short, through some misadventure, I ended up having to fight Boa Hancock and her sisters to save Margaret. I won by using some Haki and because I showed that I had a good heart and wasn't out to be their enemy. I earned their trust and Hancock's promise to help me get off the island. She also shared in private with me the secret she and her sisters shared. I can't tell you because I promised her."

Nami understood. Her captain always kept his promises. It was why she trusted him so much.

"Anyway, the night before I was supposed to leave the island, I found out about Ace's execution so Hancock helped me get to Impel Down. Later on I escaped Impel Down with a bunch of inmates and we went to Marineford. You know the rest. We fought to save Ace, succeeded then failed."

Luffy paused for a moment and Nami reached forward tentatively to offer some comfort by holding his hand. This earned her a smile from Luffy who continued.

"After that, I got saved by Law and went back to Maiden's island to train with Rayleigh for two years. Finally I met up with you guys and here we are."

"Luffy, you said you didn't have strong emotions for Hancock. Why? She's the most beautiful pirate in the world."

Luffy took his straw hat and placed it on Nami's head.

"She may be beautiful and she may be the pirate empress, but my heart has already been taken by the queen of the sea."

Nami smiled and fought back tears in her eyes. In his own way, Luffy had just told her all that she need to know.

In the women's quarters, Robin smiled and recalled her eyes and ears. The duo had earned their privacy, she decided. Tucking herself into bed she smiled and went to sleep as her captain and his navigator continued to talk into the night.

Robin never had a chance to catch up with Nami on what went on that night because the very next day the crew's crazy adventures restarted all over again.

Nami and Robin both silently observed as Luffy fooled around with Zoro and pretended to want to poke through the ship's coating to catch fish. They both understood that Luffy knew that it was perfectly safe for him to poke on hole. They both laughed discreetly and did nothing to stop Luffy goading Zoro into trying to poke multiple holes in the coating. The expressions on Ussop and Chopper's faces were priceless.

The women also observed with knowing smiles as Luffy tamed Surime the Kraken to help them. Later in their battle against Hordy Jones, Surime would prove an invaluable ally, justifying Luffy's choice.

Neither woman really appreciated Luffy's reckless way of getting them into Mermaid Island but they trusted him. It worked of course, although one had to wonder if Luffy factored Cammy finding them into his plan.

Nami and Robin both fought back knowing grins when they heard that Luffy had used Megaloo the shark to smuggle Shirahoshi out of the palace. It was hilarious and ingenious. No one had suspected it although it made Megaloo look horrendously fat.

Throughout their time in Merman/Mermaid island, the two women observed with a now different perspective all of the actions taken by their captain and understood that he was giving them brief glimpses of his competency.

Unknown to Nami, Robin was also observing her intently and had noticed that she now had a more cheerful outlook and even a jump in her step.

Robin hid a knowing smile when after the battles, Luffy wrapped his neck around Nami to get a look at the new compass and Nami never once made an issue of him basically groping her. She wondered why no one picked up on it but attributed it to his dumb act; she knew better though.

Even as she now stood on deck watching Nami guide the ship through the underwater whirlpools and into safety, she smiled, knowing that Luffy's cleverly disguised action of using the giant fish as a weight had allowed the ship to originally avoid being tossed around too badly by the currents. It was only when that weight started to do more harm than good that Nami had to take control and guide them to safety, cutting the fish loose in the process.

In the end, as she observed her Captain and his Navigator work together, she knew that whatever awaited them, it would always work out. It would work out because not only was Luffy smarter than he let on, but Nami and Luffy were now also much closer than they let on.

**THE END?**


End file.
